Braces
Kids and Teens Can Benefit From Orthodontic Treatments
Orthodontic treatment for kids and teens benefits children for a variety of reasons. If you are considering seeking orthodontic treatment for your child or teenager, knowing the benefits of orthodontics may help you make an informed decision.
The Benefits Of Orthodontic Treatment For Kids And Teens
What You Need to Know About Instant Orthodontics
Hollywood actors, actresses, and even supermodels are widely using instant orthodontics. This has caused a rise in their popularity in recent years. Have you ever dreamed of having a amazing smile? Even if you do not plan on gracing the cover of any magazine any time soon, you can still benefit greatly from instant orthodontics. But – what exactly is it?
Ins and Outs of Instant Orthodontics
Tips For Parents Who Have Kids In Braces
Twenty years ago having braces was more embarrassing than anything else for a child. However, today braces are being seen as a fashion statement with people in Asia even buying prosthetic braces kits to apply at home for fashion reasons only. Although Invisalign does offer clear orthodontic care without the will need for wires, most kids are still wearing traditional metal braces.
Things to Know about Invisalign Braces
Invisalign is a popular and innovative teeth straightening system created to straighten teeth over time. The process doesn’t use the traditional metal brackets associated with braces but instead uses clear aligners that search much like removable mouthpieces. The new Invisalign for Teens is appropriate for kids and teens and offers the same benefits as the Invisalign system that has been used on adults for years successfully.
How Braces Move Teeth
Kids that suck their thumbs often have buck-teeth. Why?
A girl from Gladstone, Oregon asked me why her front teeth stuck out so far. She was a first grader who found it very hard to stop being a thumb sucker.
Teeth are connected to jaw bones by thousands of tiny fibers that surround the roots and permit slight movements of the teeth during chewing and prevent the teeth from being dissolved away by the bone cells called osteoclasts.
Expanding Your Palate
If you are an artist, your palatte may be very messy and colorful. If you are a gourmand, then your palate describes your appreciation of smell and taste. Anatomically, your palate as the roof of your mouth.
Some people have a narrow palate for a variety of reasons:
- thumbsucking
- pacificer use
- low tongue posture
- birth defects like a cleft
- mouth breathing
- unknown reasons
Crossbites
Let’s get some definitions out of the way. Upper teeth that bite inside lower teeth are called:
- crossbite
- cross-bite
- cross bite
An anterior crossbite involves the front teeth and a posterior crossbite involves the back teeth.
Rarely, the upper posterior teeth bite completely outside the lower teeth in a condition called a scissor bite.
A posterior crossbite can involve either one side, called a unilateral crossbite, or both sides, called a bilateral crossbite.
Saving Space
Orthodontists are always worrying about space. When we are lucky, and this is most of the time, there is just the right amount of space for the top teeth and the bottom teeth to come together properly when all the teeth touch and are nice and straight.
The primary baby teeth are important for chewing and biting and speaking and especially for maintaining the space needed for the future permanent adult teeth.
When to Start Kids Braces?
Most of my Portland patients ask me when to start braces for their kids. I have been practicing orthodontics in Portland since 1995 and so I have seen many of my pediatric dental patients grow up from infancy through their teens.
Some orthodontists recommend treating crooked teeth or teeth that do not occlude (bite together properly) in two phases or treatment steps. The first phase usually starts around second or third grade and a second phase around sixth grade.
Super Orthodontic Wires
Moving teeth is a relatively simple matter. Just push on a tooth with gentle force for a long time and the tooth will move. Kids that suck their thumbs will move their teeth forward with their thumbs.
We move teeth with brackets glued to teeth and wires between them. The trick to moving teeth orthodontically is to have the gentle forces continue for a long enough time.
- Dental Health Lessons For Young Children
- Kids and Teens Can Benefit From Orthodontic Treatments
- The Best Toothpaste
- Choosing the Best Dental Products for Kids
- What You Need to Know About Instant Orthodontics
- Pediatric Shark Teeth – What Are They
- Your Guide to Common Dental Terminology
- How to Teach Your Child to Look Forward to Visiting a Kids Dentist
- What You Need to Know About Dental Insurance
- Dental Hygiene Tips for Kids
- Getting Kids to Brush Properly
- Dietary Supplements for Dental Health
- Tips For Parents Who Have Kids In Braces
- Things to Know about Invisalign Braces
- Baby Juice Bottles
